Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue (often abbreviated as PRLR) was the eighth incarnation of the Power Rangers TV series, based on the Super Sentai series Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive. It was the first incarnation of Power Rangers to have the Rangers' identities be known to public from the onset, as opposed to previous incarnations where a Ranger's identity was to be kept secret, revealed only in extreme circumstances, and the series is unique in the fact that it was the first where the Rangers' powers, Zords, and weapons were man-made and had no mystical origin whatsoever (both of these traits would be repeated in Power Rangers: S.P.D., Power Rangers: RPM and Power Rangers Beast Morphers). Lightspeed Rescue also had, for the first time, a Power Ranger with no Super Sentai counterpart in the Titanium Lightspeed Ranger, as there was no 6th Ranger at all in GoGo V. The next series to feature the main villain from its Super Sentai counterpart would be the Disney-produced Power Rangers Mystic Force, which premiered six years later. This was also the first series to have every member of the team be an adult that already have careers in their respective fields whereas before, most of the Rangers were still in school, usually high school. Synopsis Lightspeed Rescue takes place in the fictional city of Mariner Bay, California, which was built on an ancient demon burial ground. When the demons threaten to rise again, a government organization called Lightspeed, headed by one Captain Mitchell recruits four civilians and his own daughter to defend the city. Each of the four civilians chosen had a special area of expertise: Carter Grayson, the Red Lightspeed Ranger, was a firefighter in the local fire department; Chad Lee, the Blue Lightspeed Ranger, worked as a lifeguard and marine animal trainer at a local marine amusement park; Joel Rawlings, the Green Lightspeed Ranger, was a stunt pilot; Kelsey Winslow, the Yellow Lightspeed Ranger, was an extreme sports athlete; and Dana Mitchell, the Pink Lightspeed Ranger, was a nurse and practiced medical arts. The five Power Rangers were aided by a team of scientists and engineers led by Miss Angela Fairweather and operated out of the Lightspeed Aquabase, an underwater military compound that also served to deter the hydrophobic demons from attacking the base directly. The five Rangers would be joined by Captain Mitchell's (long thought to be dead) son, Ryan Mitchell. Together, the six Rangers would prevail against the demon forces time after time, culminating in a final showdown where, in the Power Rangers tradition, much of the weapons and other equipment that was used by the Power Rangers over the series was destroyed. In addition, Lightspeed Rescue featured a cameo reappearance of characters from Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy, when the villainess Trakeena comes to Earth to destroy it and the Lightspeed Rangers team up with the Galaxy Rangers. Characters Rangers Allies *Aquabase Staff **Captain Mitchell **Angela Fairweather *Neptune *Marina *Galaxy Rangers *Time Force Rangers Villains *Queen Bansheera *Impus/Prince Olympius *Diabolico *Loki *Vypra *Jinxer *Batlings *List of Lightspeed Monsters **Ghouligan **Magmavore **Quakemon **Whirlin **Fireor **Gold Beaked Monster **Elestomp **Strikning **Smogger **Trifire **Liztwin **Demonite **Thunderon **Falkar **Troika **Cobra Incarnate **Thunderclaw **Shockatron **Spellbinder **Moleman **Cyclopter **Mantevel **Vilevine **Freezard **Infinitor **Birdbane **Memorase **The Gatekeeper **Furnace Monster **Ghoular **Flowar **Mermatron **Fire Wasp **Aquafiend **Arachnor **Treevill Guest Villains *Trakeena *Triskull *Ghouls *Cyborg Rangers Arsenal Zords Episodes VHS/DVD Releases VHS *Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (VHS) **''Operation Lightspeed'' **''Lightspeed Teamwork'' **''Trial By Fire'' *Power Rangers in 3D **''Trakeena's Revenge, Part 1 & 2'' *Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue: Titanium Ranger Curse of the Cobra **''Ryan's Destiny'' **''Curse of the Cobra'' **''Strength of the Sun'' **''The Cobra Strike'' *Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue: The Queen's Wrath **''Wrath of the Queen'' **''Rise of the Super Demons'' **''The Fate of Lightspeed, Part 1 & 2'' *Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue: Neptune's Daughter **''Ocean Blue'' **''The Fifth Crystal'' **''Neptune's Daughter'' DVD * Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (Complete Season) RC2 *The Best of the Power Rangers: The Ultimate Rangers **''Trakeena's Revenge, Part 1 & 2'' *Power Rangers Seasons 8-12 (Lightspeed Rescue to Dino Thunder) *Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory) Production/Reception Lightspeed Rescue was the first Power Ranger season to be truly independent of previous seasons and unlike its predecessor (Lost Galaxy, which is often described as a "in between" season because of its characters' connections to the "Zordon Era"), did not include any familiar staying characters such as a unit from the Lexion Alpha line, Bulk, Skull or NASADA, with the exception of its Team Up episode with the Galaxy Rangers. Fan reception of Lightspeed Rescue was initially one of sheer derision, however, cases made by some of its more passionate fans, coupled with former critics becoming more respectable of it through repeated viewings, have helped to redeem the season's reputation. Several fans and critics of the season also agree that "The Fate of Lightspeed" is one of Power Rangers most gripping finales. Notes * Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue is the first season: ** To be completely independent of previous seasons. Aside from the team-up episodes with the previous season, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, there are no elements that are shared between Lightspeed Rescue and any of the previous seven seasons, as a result of the series adopting the Super Sentai formula of treating each season as its own self-contained story (though unlike Super Sentai, all Power Rangers seasons, save for Power Rangers RPM and Power Rangers Dino Charge/Supercharge, are in the same universe and continuity). *** As such, it is also the first season not to include any elements from the Zordon Era, including characters such as Bulk. ** To feature an American-made Power Rangers-exclusive Ranger with no Super Sentai counterpart, in the form of the Titanium Ranger, designed by PLEX. The lack of a Sentai counterpart is the chief reason behind Titanium Ranger's long absence and losing his powers, since in the long-term, making new footage only for him as well as using Sentai footage of the main five Rangers would have caused the series to go over-budget. *** As such, this is the only season to date to feature an American-exclusive Sixth Ranger. ** To have its Ranger team be run by a military/public service organization, a theme that would reappear in Power Rangers Time Force and Power Rangers S.P.D.. ** To have all of its individual Rangers have professions before becoming Rangers. ** To have all of its individual Rangers be complete strangers prior to becoming Rangers. ** To list each character's full names in the opening, as previous seasons only listed each character by their first name. ** To take place in a city on Earth other than Angel Grove, California. ** To feature manmade Power Rangers, as well as manmade Power Ranger technology (suits, morphers, and weapons). ** To have the opaque visor on the Rangers' helmets be opened. The only other season to date to do this is Power Rangers Ninja Storm. ** Feature a Ranger's parent as a regular cast member. ** Have trains for Zords. To date, this is the only season to give each individual Ranger their own train Zord. ** To feature an episode dedicated to the memory of a deceased Power Rangers actor. Episode 21, "The Fifth Crystal", is dedicated to the memory of Robert L. "Bob" Manahan, the second voice of Zordon, who had passed away of a heart aneurysm on June 30, 2000. * Lightspeed Rescue is, thus far, the only season to give Battlizers, or Battlizer-type equipment, to the Green and Blue Rangers in addition to the Red Ranger. * This season is the second to feature siblings serving on the same Ranger team; the first was Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. * This is the last Ranger team to have white boots as part of their uniforms until Power Rangers Ninja Steel. * This season possesses many elements similar to that of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season one, including the villains being accidentally released, the mentor aware of their presence, an evil Sixth Ranger who later joins the team, a close friendship between the Yellow and Blue Rangers, a significant relationship between the Pink and Sixth Rangers (a romantic couple in Mighty Morphin, siblings in Lightspeed Rescue), and one of the rangers being romantically involved with a character named Angela. * The two-part "Trakeena's Revenge", the team-up episode between this season and Lost Galaxy, was originally released to McDonald's restaurants as a VHS entitled Power Rangers in 3D. It is the last team-up to use footage from the corresponding Sentai team-up movie until the Power Rangers Samurai team-up "Clash of the Red Rangers - The Movie". ** Actress Amy Miller did not reprise her role as Trakeena for the team-up episodes, due to not agreeing with the episodes' direction of being centered more on a child character than on the two Ranger teams. Producers had also attempted to cut her salary, angering actor Danny Slavin to the extent that he walked out of production. As a result, Miller was replaced by Jennifer Burns as Trakeena, while Slavin's character Leo Corbett was filmed using body doubles and voicework from actor Christopher Glenn. * The "V" on the Titanium Ranger's helmet is a nod to this season's Sentai counterpart, Kyukyu Sentai GoGoV. * Lightspeed Rescue is one of the few Power Rangers seasons to keep the Sentai term for a part of the Rangers' arsenal. In this case, the term "V-Lancer" was transferred over from GoGoV. * The episode "Curse Of The Cobra" contains a scene with the Rangers passing by a building that had flames coming out of it. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Disney had the scene cut in reruns. * At the beginning of "Up To The Challenge", Chad is trying to teach Kelsey how to do Tai Chi at a temple-like building. This building shows up in the first episode of another Saban production, VR Troopers. * Two of Lightspeed Rescue's cast members, Michael Chaturantabut and Keith Robinson, would go on to co-star alongside singer Beyoncé Knowles, in the films Austin Powers in Goldmember and Dreamgirls respectively. See Also External links * Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers - The Official Power Rangers Website fr: Sauvetage Eclair Category:Shows Dubbed in Japanese Category:Post-Zordon Era Category:2000's Power Rangers Series